It has been a summer of turmoil for Aston Villa that started with the simple task of appointing a new manager. When Gerald Houllier confirmed that he would not be returning as manager due to health issues, the fans must have thought it was a chance to start afresh with a new man steering the good ship Villa.
But I do not think they had in mind the manager of huge rivals Birmingham City, Alex McLeish.
However Randy Lerner disagreed and went against all of the fans protest and complaints to appoint McLeish as manager. The summer was not to improve for the Villains as Ashley Young sealed his highly expected £16m move to Manchester United, goalkeeper Brad Friedel left to join Spurs and Nigel Reo Coker was released, it really has been a summer of discontent for Aston Villa and their fans.
Only today the club have had to turn down a £15m bid from Liverpool for Stuart Downing but the England winger seems to have set his mind on a move to Anfield and is likely to hand in a transfer request in order to force the move.
With so many integral players moving on to pastures new, the upcoming season will be one of transition for the Villa and McLeish will now be looking to bring in some new talent to complement the squad that he already has at his deposal while also trying to win over the many disgruntled fans.
This time last year Aston Villa had just experienced a successful season under the stewardship of Martin O’Neill, reaching their first Wembley final since 2000 going down 2-1 to Manchester United in the Carling Cup final and achieving a 6th place finish in the Premier League. However to the surprise of everybody O’Neill resigned just five days before the start of the season on due to a disagreement over the future ambitions of the club with owner Randy Lerner.
The season that followed was one of disappointment with Villa flirting with the bottom three, so much so that Lerner had to splash the cash on Darren Bent to ensure the club even remained in the league.
Now McLeish will be looking to rebuild a new side to which mount an attack on the top six in the Premier League. To do this he will need to bring in a number of new players and it is not like the club is short of cash with all the money from the Young sale.
At the back, signing Shay Given to replace the departed Friedel, bringing in Alan Hutton at right back and raiding his old club to sign Roger Johnson would make for three very good signings for McLeish and would probably only cost around £10m for all three.
In midfield, Charles N’Zogbia who is almost certain to leave Wigan this summer would be a suitable replacement for Ashley Young while signing Scott Parker in the middle would be a good move. It is important that they add some experience to a young side that chucked away the most points from winning positions in the Premier League last season and Parker will surely bring a new-found resilience to the side. The injury-stricken Owen Hargreaves may also be an option in the midfield on a free transfer but only a pay as you play deal as he proves his fitness.
One positive to come from last season was the emergence of young talent progressing into the first team. After their impressive displays last season Marc Albrighton and Irish international Ciaran Clark will surely now play a major role in the team. It is also easy to forget about Fabian Delph who has been overshadowed by his £6m fee during his time at Villa Park but this could be the year he proves his worth to the side. Steven Ireland will also feel he has a big chance to establish himself under a new manager and if he can show the undoubted quality we all know he posses, he could well become an important player this term.
With the many departures this summer, fans optimism ahead of the new summer season remains low but if McLeish can suitably replace the departed players, bring in some much needed experience and still continue Gerald Houllier’s youth policy, you never know it could actually turn out to be a pretty good season for the Villa Park faithful.
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